My concept of who God is and my experiential knowledge of Him has clearly entered into another dimension, which possibly can best be described by the phrase “the fear of the Lord”. It is that phrase which is the foundational, overarching, and unifying theme of what I have to share in this article.
That phrase, “the fear of the Lord”, is, indeed, rich in meaning. Both the Hebrew and Greek words mean both “reverential awe”, “reverence”, “respect”, as well as “exceedingly dreadful fearfulness”. The root meaning is to withdraw – fleeing because of feeling inadequate.
My impression is that, generally speaking for the last 50 years in Evangelical circles, the meaning of “fear” has leaned more towards “reverential awe”, “reverence” and “respect”. Whereas generations prior to that, the meaning leaned more toward “exceedingly dreadful fearfulness”, “withdrawing”, “feeling because of feeling inadequate”.
It seems to me that when speaking specifically about the Lord, authentic reverential awe would certainly include exceedingly dreadful fearfulness.
It is the latter which has come more into focus in my experience of the Lord. I think the reasons for this is firstly because seeing God, as He truly is, warrants this perspective. Secondly, various experiences have made my perception of God “much bigger” – more awesome, and consequently more fearsome – than my earlier years of life in Christ.
Discover more from At Christ's Table
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
